Budweiser Brewery Experience – St. Louis, Missouri
Before attending the Mets/Cardinals game in St. Louis with the 7 Line Army, we spent our morning checking out the Budweiser Brewery Experience. The brewery is located at Budweiser Brewery 1200 Lynch St, St. Louis, MO 63118. Here, you can take a tour of the brewery, see the world famous Clydesdales (or part of them), and sample some of Budweiser’s newest and most popular beverages.
We purchased tickets ahead of time through their website. From there you can choose your experience from getting up close and personal with the Clydesdales, to a variety of tours available, and even beer and food pairings. Prices vary but are decent, and you can choose the experience that fits best with your budget or time available.
Prior to our tour, we were able to hang out in the courtyard area prior to our group being called. They have food trucks and beverages available for purchase in a fun block party like atmosphere. I’m sure this varies depending on the weather, but since it’s mid-July I feel we got a full party experience pre tour.
First up – the Budweiser Clydesdales
Once our tour time was called, we headed to our first stop on the Budweiser Brewery Experience. That being the home of the best known representatives of the brewery, the famous Budweiser Clydesdales. As we entered the stables, we were able to view some informational posters about them.
The Clydesdales were a gift to August Busch Sr. from his sons to celebrate the end of prohibition. They currently own about 250 Clydesdales.
Here we separated into our assigned groups, and had an opportunity to snap some photos before one of the tour guides gave us some information on the Clydesdales.
The chandelier inside the stables is from the 1904 World’s Fair. It is made of solid brass and weighs over 650 pounds.
Making the Beer
We headed back outside to the Beechwood Aging Cellars. We passed around one of the chips used for the fermentation process. They are in the bottom of the tank and the fermentation process is allowed to take place for 21 days to get the beer making process started. The chips come from multiple states like Missouri, Indiana, and Tennessee.
There are 375 tanks throughout the premises and each hold approximately 1.2 million cans, or 7,200 kegs.
After leaving the aging cellars, we headed back outside to the Brew House. Here, another guide went over how Budweiser is made with the help of this large visual aide.
Onto the Mash Tanks. This brewing floor was spectacularly put together and ornately decorated. Two more chandeliers from the World’s Fair were in this area and hung from the ceiling three floors above us.
We continued downstairs through other brewing floors and back outside to exit the building.
Important Statues and Buildings
The elephant statues outside of the building are to represent Budweiser during prohibition when they sold non alcoholic products such as ice cream and ginger ale. The eagle statue of course representing the brewery.
The buildings are just stunning and so well built/designed. The clock tower is one of the most photographed landmarks in St. Louis besides the Gateway Arch.
The Schoolhouse is the oldest building on the property. It was originally an active school house, where all children of Adolphus Busch attended. When the school closed, the building was sold to the brewery and is now part of the offices for the company.
There is much more to this tour, but you’ll have to go on it yourself to find out and of course get those post tour Budweiser samples.
Budweiser Brewery Experience – Final Thoughts
We love tours like these and this was no exception. The Clydesdales being the highlight of the tour of course.
Have you been on a brewery tour? Which one? Which brewery tours do you recommend?
